Independents oust party politics
By MidsomerNorton People | Thursday, May 12, 2011, 11:00
Midsomer Norton’s new town council will begin life with 11 independent candidates.
Voters in the town decided to wave goodbye to party politics at parish level governance.
Sitting on the council, which meets for the first time on May 12, will be Linda Dunford, who gained 1,962 votes, Steve Plumley, 1,944, Paul Myers, 1,927, Simon Wellington, 1,912, Michael Evans, 1,780, Pete Mocock, 1,721, Jane Lewis, 1,680, Lynda Robertson, 1,693, Brian Lawrence 1,504, Richard Robertson, 1,454, and John Slade, 1,136.
The four Labour candidates standing for the council missed out on seats with Peter Sas gaining only 839 votes, Gael Doswell gaining 984, Fflyff Mclaren gaining 1,018 and Wayne Teall gaining 1,036. Independent candidate Clive Rowlett also missed out on a seat after gaining 1,103 votes.
There were 86 spoilt ballot papers.
Three members of the new council, Michael Evans, John Slade and Pete Mocock, sat on the former Norton Radstock Town Council before it was abolished at the end of March.
A three-way split of Norton Radstock Town Council was approved in 2010 following a Community Governance Review. This gave the green light for a change in parish level governance for the first time in more than 75 years.
Three separate town councils for Midsomer Norton, Westfield and Radstock now cover the area previously governed by Norton Radstock Town Council.
